Kakuzu's fury simmered. He had been the first person locked in that prison in years, and the more he thought about it, the angrier he got! He struck each of the guards in the neck, ensuring they wouldn't wake up tonight.
Torifū looked at the unconscious guards, clearly sensing Kakuzu's rage. He hoped the Elders would meet a somewhat dignified end.
"Do you know where the secret jutsu scroll is?"
Kakuzu nodded. "Of course. Almost every powerful shinobi in the village knows, but no one dares to provoke the Elders." He distinctly remembered the fate of the last person who tried to steal the Earth Grudge Fear secret technique. Their entire clan was massacred, not a single soul spared—that was the Elders' ruthlessness. They didn't even leave room for repentance. At the time, Kakuzu hadn't felt sorry for that person's fate; instead, he felt they got what they deserved. But now, he found himself in a nearly identical situation, though he was stronger and luckier.
Few shinobi guarded the village at night. Since the village hadn't been attacked in years, there was no need to expend energy on night watch. Everyone believed the great waterfall was the best guardian; with it, everyone could sleep soundly. This led to Torifū and Kakuzu's unusually smooth operation. Torifū wasn't sure why the Elders hadn't sent shinobi to watch Kakuzu. However, he was glad; while the number of Takigakure shinobi sent wouldn't matter to Torifū, it would still be a hassle.
Torifū followed Kakuzu, and they soon arrived at Takigakure's Treasure Vault. According to Kakuzu, apart from the Earth Grudge Fear secret technique, the vault contained nothing else extraordinary. But their objective was solely the Jiongu.
There were still a few shinobi guarding the Treasure Vault, around four or five. "These are all clan members of the Elders. They do nothing all day, just stand here for a few hours pretending to guard, and they get a huge reward every month."
Torifū could hear a hint of bitterness in Kakuzu's voice, unsure if it was due to anger or jealousy that they could slack off at work and still get the biggest share of the money.
"Should we just kill them?" Torifū asked Kakuzu.
Kakuzu nodded. These shinobi were all lackeys of the Elders; anyone associated with the Elders, he would kill! Kakuzu then began forming hand signs, preparing to ambush the guards, but Torifū stopped him. Before Kakuzu could ask, the golden-haired person suddenly appeared. Five golden chains shot out from behind him, piercing through the five guards in an instant. They didn't even have a chance to cry out in pain before their hearts were instantly obliterated. The chains then retracted, and the bodies collapsed to the ground.
Kakuzu was silent. The strongest of those shinobi was only slightly weaker than himself, yet they were dispatched with such ease. What kind of person was this?
Torifū smiled and said, "Let's go. Show me your Treasure Vault."
Kakuzu snapped out of his daze and quickly assented, fearing that this bloodthirsty individual might string him up too.
Torifū followed Kakuzu into Takigakure's Treasure Vault. His first impression was that it was cramped. Although it looked quite large from the outside, the interior space was surprisingly small. He wondered how it was designed. Kakuzu saw Torifū's expression and knew he wasn't used to the place, so he explained. "The five old geezers designed it this way specifically to prevent theft. Fighting in such a confined space limits one's movements."
"It's a roundabout way of weakening combat ability."
After hearing the explanation, Torifū felt that these five old geezers were completely useless at village development, but they certainly had a lot of ideas. This so-called anti-theft design could only deter their own village's shinobi. If truly powerful external shinobi became interested in the Earth Grudge Fear, could this dilapidated house stop them?
"Let's just take it and leave this place quickly." Torifū felt his intelligence dropping with every second he spent in that room.
Kakuzu walked to the center of the Treasure Vault and fiddled with a strange pattern on the floor for a long time. With a click, a crack appeared in the floor, and then a path leading underground appeared before them.
"Let's go. This is just the outermost layer."
At this point, Torifū had no desire to complain about anything. He just wanted to see what grand designs these old geezers would come up with next. With a curious mindset, Torifū followed Kakuzu inside.
The further down they went, the colder Torifū felt the temperature become, and the walls on both sides were extremely damp. He could faintly hear the sound of flowing water. After walking for about ten minutes, they finally entered a space resembling an underground cave, utterly pitch black. Fortunately, with the help of his Sharingan, this was not a problem. However, Kakuzu seemed to be struggling a bit, constantly groping the surrounding walls in the darkness, seemingly searching for something.
Kakuzu felt a protruding stone on the wall and pressed it. Suddenly, the lamps on the surrounding walls lit up. The sudden light in the darkness made both their eyes temporarily unable to see clearly. After their vision had slightly adjusted, Torifū asked, "How is it that you seem so familiar with this place?"
Kakuzu coughed nervously, glancing around. "Do I? No, no, I just happened to find it."
He decided not to press the issue. Since Kakuzu didn't want to talk, there was no need to force it. Finding the Earth Grudge Fear was the top priority.
"Don't overthink it. Come with me. We're almost there."
Kakuzu led Torifū along the path indicated by the lamps, and Torifū noticed that the direction of the lamps aligned with the sound of flowing water. He became increasingly curious about where this Jiongu was hidden. This entire journey felt like playing an escape room. Those old geezers certainly had too much free time. They built such a massive Treasure Vault for a single secret technique. Wouldn't it be better to just keep it under their blankets and guard it themselves? Why go through such time-consuming, laborious, and costly efforts?
"By the way, have any of your village Elders successfully mastered the Earth Grudge Fear?"
Kakuzu, walking ahead, shook his head. "Not a single one. The effects of the Earth Grudge Fear are very unique; once mastered, one can achieve 'eternal life'."
"The Elders don't want their old rivals to succeed in mastering it, so they constantly counterbalance each other, ultimately deciding to build a Treasure Vault where no one can practice it."
"Emmm..." Torifū didn't understand, but he respected it. These old geezers genuinely prioritized their status and interests above all else. Anything that might affect or infringe upon their interests would be suppressed. Perhaps Kakuzu had inadvertently touched upon their interests, leading to such a flimsy excuse to try and execute him.